UK defence spending 2026| ��ƽ��

Public sector expenditure on defence in the United Kingdom from 2011/12 to 2025/26 (in billion GBP)

Characteristic	Expenditure in billion GBP (in nominal terms)
2025/26	65.4
2024/25	63.7
2023/24	56.8
2022/23	55.5
2021/22	48.7
2020/21	44.6
2019/20	42.2
2018/19	40.2
2017/18	38.7
2016/17	37.1
2015/16	36.6
2014/15	36.7
2013/14	36.4
2012/13	36.3
2011/12	38.7

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Release date

July 2026

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Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

April 1, 2011, to March 31, 2026

Supplementary notes

This statistic using original data from the Government Digital Service and includes copyright material licensed under © Crown, the��

Citation formats

In 2025/26, the United Kingdom spent approximately 65.4��billion British pounds on defense, compared with��63.7��billion pounds in the previous year. This was the highest defense spending for the UK during this provided time period.��

NATO and the two percent pledge

The UK is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military and political alliance initiated on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. Members of NATO are expected to spend at least two��percent of their GDP on defense, a target which the United Kingdom just missed between 2015/16 and 2020/21. Before 2016, the United Kingdom’s defense spending was always above this target and was higher than three percent of GDP before the mid-1990s. As of 2022/23, UK defense spending was slightly above this target, at��2.2 percent of GDP, with plans to increase it to three percent in the future.��

The UK and the War in Ukraine

The recent pledge to increase UK defense spending is clearly linked to recent events in Europe. Russia's full-scale��invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 completely altered the European security landscape for the UK. Along with a coalition of other countries, the UK has been one of the key backers of the Ukrainian military effort, providing significant military aid over the course of the war. Apart from financial aid, the UK has provided Ukraine with equipment such as the Challenger 2��Main Battle Tank, a number of armored fighting vehicles, and missiles, including long-range Storm Shadow cruise-missiles.